Category Archives: Advice to authors

Did you know that in Victorian times, and right through to the 1970s, the very first thing a business manager would always do was hire a dictation typist?

Why?

The number #1 reason is that typing a letter was the most tiresome chore a manager could imagine. It was also an inefficient use of their time. So they were more than happy to pay someone to do it for them – a person who’d note down their ideas, and tidy them up into a letter.

Unfortunately, a similar dislike of such work applies to fiction readers today.

Reading your book can be a delightful experience and an enjoyable escape, but writing an Amazon review is a mentally taxing task most readers simply don’t want to do, and will almost invariably avoid.

Even readers who’ve promised to review your book will usually fail to do so.

So, How To Get Amazon Reviews If No-one Will Write Them?

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Well, let me outline a way for you to get more reviews. (Even though this is very obvious, it seems to escape most writers.)

The secret is to remove the roadblock. Think about it: Over 90% of your readers will be perfectly happy to talk about your book. So let them do exactly that; let them talk about it while you record or take notes, and then transcribe it for them – as a review.

Be their ‘dictation typist’ to save them the task: Interview them, record what they say, and type it out. Of course you must accurately reflect their views so it’s authentic.

Once typed, send it back to them with an exact link to your book’s Amazon review page so they can upload it. Remind them to check the review to be sure it genuinely portrays their opinion, and edit it for ‘personality’ if they’d like to.

With this one action, you’ve removed the roadblock that’s preventing them from reviewing your book on Amazon.

The sad truth is that Amazon’s review system has been significantly damaged by fake reviews, but in this case, these are genuine reviews from your readers – precisely the type Amazon wants.

It all comes down to how strongly you want more reviews, and whether you’re willing to make it easy for your readers to write them.

Crucial point: The Review Must Maintain A Reader’s Unique Objectivity

This method not only avoids interfering with the normal objective reviews posted by readers, but also gathers the honest opinions of readers who would never write a review at all otherwise.

Crucially, interviewed readers must be encouraged to view the text you send as merely a draft, and edit it to make it entirely their own – with their unique objectivity. This method is essentially to get them moving, rather than make up their ideas for them.

What To Ask A Reader?

Have a set of these types of review questions ready:

1. What did you think of the story?
2. Was it exciting?
3. Extremely romantic?
4. Did it hold your attention?
5. Did it provoke emotions?
6. Did you care about the main character?
7. Did you like the writing style?
8. Would you recommend it to a friend?

Note: There’s no point in just sending these question to a reader so they can write a review. That means they’re still having to do 90% of the work. Instead, you must do all the work byinterviewing, recording and transcribing to get them going. You are the catalyst.

Do this every couple of weeks, and over time it will build up a sizable number of genuine reader reviews.

How To Find And Contact Readers To Interview?

On Amazon you cannot directly promote your book for free in exchange for a review. It would be VERY easy to misinterpret this article as being about swapping free books for reviews. Absolutely not. You need to contact your readers and form a connection first.

For example, search for readers who talk about your book on Twitter and Facebook, or by offering an unrelated book for free as a PDF in exchange for an email address – not the book you want reviewed. Remember – this is not to be directly in exchange for a review.

Once you have developed a relationship, and are in touch by email, phone, Skype ,Viber or Whatsapp etc, ask them for honest opinion of your book for a reader review, and point out that that you’ll do the tedious typing part. They can then check and edit the review to be sure it accurately portrays their opinion.

Most readers will feel privileged to be contacted by an author, and pleased to be involved in your writing career.

The Bottom Line: Are These ‘Real’ Reviews?

Truth is, this is not anywhere near a perfect solution, because it’s difficult to genuinely mirror a reader’s thoughts and unique, objective views. But one thing of which I am absolutely certain is that this approach is far more likely to produce a review that’s close to the genuine views of a reader than the gazillions of fake reviews that litter and corrupt Amazon.

Marilyn Holdsworth – Why Book Covers Are Important
Why book covers are so important.

Book covers are very important because they are the first thing your potential reader sees. A good cover must have an enticing appeal to draw the reader to it. An attractive cover design immediately rouses the reader’s curiosity in the book’s content. And there is a much greater chance they will want to buy it. The old addage “you can’t tell a book by its cover” may be true but the book cover is still most important in generating sales. Eye catching color and an alluring design that harmonizes with the book’s title will be much more likely to capture the reader’s interest. Also, the use of an endorsement of the book by a well known person or periodical can add to the impact of the cover. A few praising words or lines for the book can draw the possible reader to it. A book with a pleasing color design and intriguing title is much more likely to sell than one without. People do tend to buy what they see. A book’s cover is the first thing they see and will remember. First impressions are lasting.

MAKING WISHES

Elloree Prince is an attractive, creative young woman who marries a wealthy businessman, Tom Randall. After courting his bride with unrelenting determination, Tom moves her into old-moneyed Oak View, where generations of Randalls have lived for years. Outwardly, Elloree appears to settle into raising their two sons within Oak View’s stifling social structure, but inwardly, she yearns for her artistic work. An unexpected phone call from Mark Williams, her former employer, offers her the career opportunity of a lifetime, and she must make a choice. She is torn between her devotion to her sons and her love for her work. Her decision to return to Wishes, Inc. brings dramatic life changes to her and the people she loves.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Women’s fiction

Rating – PG-13

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Connect with Marilyn Holdsworth on Facebook & Twitter

Blog http://MarilynHoldsworth.wordpress.com/

Giveaway

The author is giving away 1 soft cover books and 3 kindle books in this tour.

Why choosing your setting is important:
The settings in a book are important to the overall tone of the book. The action and the characters are affected by their surroundings. I have found to capture the true feel of a particular place it is most helpful to have been there myself. I have traveled to many different areas when writing my books. When I was working on my first book, Pegasus, I visited many locations in California. Also in Austria, I took a trip on the Danube and visited the Spanish Riding School. All those experiences helped me to write realistically about the settings of my story.
When I was working on The Beautiful American I visited James Monroe’s home, Ashlawn in Virginia and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. I also toured all throughout Albemarle county to get the feeling of the area I was writing about in the book and the settings I was creating for my characters. I have been to Paris many times and to the Louvre which was extremely helpful in writing the parts of the book set in post- revolutionary France.
In Making Wishes my main character lives in the Los Angeles area but travels to New York and London. Having visited both New York and London many times helped me create realistic settings for that book. And since I live in California, Los Angeles is a familiar area to me.
I can visualize in my mind the settings I am creating for my characters much better if I have been there. For my books to be realistic it is very important I choose settings that not only suit the characters and plot but most importantly are places I know and feel comfortable writing about.

Marilyn’s Books

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Suburban mother of two boys, Elloree Prince, makes a decision to return to work. Her decision changes her life for ever.

Elizabeth and James Monroe rescue Madame Lafayette from guillotine in Paris.

Compelling story of horse rescue. A tale of mystery, adventure and romance guaranteed to catpture the heart.

A surprise phone call, an unexpected bequest, and a mysterious portrait send wealthy entrepreneur and art collector Charles Brentworth on a perilous quest. With the help of attractive cosmopolitan art dealer Courtney Trent, he searches for the identity of the young woman in the antique portrait titles simply Lady J. Their puzzling pursuit leads them to London, the English Cotswolds, and into a dangerous web of art fraud in a shadowy art underworld. As they uncover clues to Lady J’s identity, they discover an unsolved murder, art heists, and forged paintings. Their findings catapult them into a desperate race against time to prevent the theft of a valuable art collection and finally lead them to solve the riddle of their treasured, enigmatic Lady J.